LIVERMORE, CA (November 9, 2010) - West Virginia University and LabSmith, Inc, developer of tools for science, have received funding through the Research Infrastructure Improvement Grant awarded to the West Virginia Higher Education Policy Commission by the National Science Foundation for the research project entitled, "Environmental Sensing Using a Broadly Selective Aptamer." The specific research project goal is to develop a portable separation-based device for rapid identification of environmental contamination. The project is one of two Seed Projects for the University's WVNano Initiative, the goal of which is to provide infrastructure that stimulates research in nanoscale science and engineering while integrating education, workforce development and outreach programs.

"LabSmith is honored to play a key role in this exciting, necessary research," said Yolanda Fintschenko, director of Business Development for LabSmith. "LabSmith's products for micro- and nanofluidics will enable the development of this portable identification system, which will have wide-ranging abilities to detect environmental contaminants and provide key information for their containment and mitigation."

"LabSmith's expertise in nanofluidic experimentation is an excellent complement to our interdisciplinary research team," said David Lederman, Interim Director of the WVNano Initiative. "LabSmith products make it possible for us to quickly build nanofludic experiments for our research projects. Labsmith's assistance in training graduate students provides additional opportunities for students to participate in technology transfer. This partnership will help our research progress quickly without the typical delays associated with constructing experimental setups and prototyping nanofluidic circuits."

The WVNano/WVU Seed Research Program was established to complement current WVNano research in bionanotechnology. Seed Program projects aim to acquire preliminary data for transformative projects and to establish innovative educational/research alliances with industry.

This specific Seed Project was developed to design a portable analytical device for the detection and identification of a range of environmental contaminants. The technology is based on broad selection found in nature, in which endocrine hormone receptors respond to natural hormones as well as other chemicals. Novel aptamers will be developed with broad selectivity, for simultaneous determination of multiple analytes. Unlike previous attempts at contaminant identification, this strategy will result in the first analytical method for fast, field-deployable, and reliable identification of a broad range of contaminants.

LabSmith, Inc. manufactures the equipment critical to transforming device design into a prototype instrument, including CapTite™ microfluidics interconnection products, SVM340 Synchronous Video Microscopes and HVS448 High Voltage Sequencers. LabSmith will also host graduate students from the University of West Virginia who will train and carry out experimentation at LabSmith facilities in Livermore, California.

About LabSmith, Inc.

LabSmith, Inc. builds laboratory tools that further the art of research. LabSmith products control all aspects of experimentation, including timing, synchronization, high voltage and current sourcing, fluid routing and event capture and visualization. Visit www.labsmith.com.

About West Virginia University WVNano Initiative

The WVNano Initiative at West Virginia University is the state of West Virginia's initiative for nanoscale science, engineering and education (NSEE). Its specific goal is to provide necessary infrastructure to stimulate innovative research in the area of nanoscale science and engineering while integrating education, workforce development and outreach programs. Visit http://wvnano.wvu.edu/.